watching movies one cup at a time

Why? Why redo this movie? The original was a subtle, black and white haunted house movie. This new version went completely psycho-nuts with the computer-generated crap all over the place. WAY over the top. I’m all for CGI adding something to a movie, but they just ripped out any subtlety and ran right into using every opportunity they could to CGI something. Doors, curtains, fireplaces, paintings, smoke, beds, you name it. And it was ugly CGI too with weird beds coming to life looking like some kind of alien escaped from war of the worlds.

They added a bunch of extra nonsense to the script as well making the plot a lot more complicated. And that didn’t help things. Again, too much. I must say the house looked fantastic though. I’d love to live in such a huge mansion with such rich decor. Just skip the CGI kid-ghosts on the fireplace coming to life.

The acting was okay. Lili Taylor didn’t really fit here though as Nell, the lead female character. She doesn’t convey the same vulnerability as Julie Harris did so well in the original. Liam Neeson as the head of the project is pretty much wasting his talents here too. Owen Wilson pops in and is his usual annoying self. I can’t stand that guy.

Overall this film was a waste of time. They should have built on the originals creepiness factor instead of ramming a bunch of CG effects down our throats. The imagination is much more fertile ground for what scares us than CGI curtains.

This movie was really stupid. It pairs up the Farrelly Brothers and Ben Stiller once again but unlike There’s Something About Mary, the jokes here fall flat and Ben Stiller’s character is a lot less likable. In fact, many of the jokes here feel like they’re recycled from Mary like a bad imitation.

The Farrelly Brothers really never were able to recreate their success with Mary. There have been a few interesting movies here and there like Fever Pitch but for the most part it’s felt like they have been chasing Mary and playing off their reputation as the “gross out kings” to attract an audience. And The Heartbreak Kid is no exception. There are more than a few gross-out jokes in this one that are really just plain gross. They aren’t funny and they feel very forced. Read the rest of this entry »